


Memory Link

by MysticalAuthoress



Series: Trials of the Wild [9]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Yakitate!! Japan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Amnesia, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Breath of the Wild Spoilers, Developing Friendships, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Post-Breath of the Wild, Yakitate!! Japan Spoilers, resurrected champions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-19 08:48:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29747985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MysticalAuthoress/pseuds/MysticalAuthoress
Summary: The party finally arrives at Hyrule Castle! Unfortunately, Princess Zelda has bad news to bear for them, and the party has to deal with the fallout...
Relationships: Azuma Kazuma & Kawachi Kyousuke, Monica Adenauer/Suwabara Kai, Shachioko & Revali, Urbosa & Meister Kirisaki, Zelda & Kuroyanagi Ryou
Series: Trials of the Wild [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2094270
Comments: 2
Kudos: 1





	Memory Link

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Yakitate! Japan or The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
> 
> This is yet another oneshot in my Yakitate! Japan/The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild crossover oneshot series! If you haven't read the previous oneshots, you may want to do so before reading this one. I hope that you enjoy reading this!
> 
> Warnings: Breath of the Wild and Yakitate! Japan spoilers, Amnesia/Memory loss, canon-divergent AU where all the Champions were resurrected post-Ganon being defeated

Princess Zelda, or rather, soon-to-be-Queen Zelda, was very busy.

Ever since the defeat of Calamity Ganon, she'd been busy assessing all of Hyrule in its state since how she last saw it a hundred years ago. The people rejoiced upon knowing that Zelda and Link had finished Ganon, and the surprise revival of the Champions boosted morale significantly, as well. Given these factors, there was no problem having the people's support in Zelda resuming reign over Hyrule, even if it had been a hundred years since there was a royal family ruling Hyrule.

However, there were complications. Securing union with the Gerudo, the Rito, the Gorons and the Zora wasn't easy. The revived Champions certainly helped in this, to an extent, but there were those bitter about the Calamity even happening in the first place, especially among the Zora elders, it seemed. Zelda knew that, however, peace had to be secured. She worked tirelessly to restore and renew relations with all the peoples of Hyrule, while driving out the remnants of Ganon's forces.

Link, as far as she knew, regained most of his memories after he awakened and before he defeated Ganon, but she doubted he remembered everything. However, he remembered enough to know that he'd been ordered by King Rhoam, her father, to be her knight, and that he constantly was by her side. With nowhere else to really go, Link often stayed at Hyrule Castle. He'd also travel, sometimes on her behalf to speak with others such as Impa at Kakariko Village about the state of things, and sometimes just because he could. The people of Hyrule almost expected her to appoint him as captain of the knights, and she'd offered that position to him, but Link turned it down. It wasn't what he wanted. She suspected that he felt guilty enough for near-dying those hundred years ago, but she wasn't sure exactly how he felt about everything.

With many operations underway, from maintaining the roads and stable system, restoring the actual castle, restoring the surrounding castle town, and catching up with what development she'd missed observing in the Gerudo, the Rito, the Zora and the Gorons over the past one-hundred years, Zelda had two other things to worry about: Organizing for the upcoming ball celebrating the defeat of Calamity Ganon, and also organizing things for her coronation as Queen soon after that. Currently Link was gone on a short trip to Kakariko Village; he'd promised to be back before the actual upcoming ball, though. She'd hoped that was all, as that was already a lot on her plate, but…

Well, fate had a funny way of adding _new_ worries on when she least expected them.

She thought of the man with the pink hairband that she found several days ago, frowning as she looked through some newly-organized books from the still-being-organized remains of the Hyrule Castle Library. She hoped that he'd be okay. He hadn't regained consciousness, but…

"Princess!" She turned to see one of the servants approach, bowing before they spoke. "All of the Champions are at the castle gates and wish to speak with you. They've brought…companions with them, claiming that they're from an entirely different world."

"What?" Her heart leapt a beat at the statement. "Please, bring them to the great hall immediately. I'll greet them there."

Could these companions be more people, like the one that earlier appeared at the castle before? Zelda just had to know more.

* * *

"Wow…"

Monica stared around Hyrule Castle. She'd expected it to be glamorous, but the halls looked pristine. The great hall was vast, likely meant to act as a ballroom. It was just so vast, and gorgeous. It was somewhat simple-looking, but the patterns all over the marble flooring and the chandeliers hanging from the ceiling added a unique ornateness to it.

"They weren't kidding when they said the great hall looked even better than before." Daruk managed, looking around. He seemed just as in awe as Monica and the other guests. "I think it's even bigger than it was, a hundred years ago."

"They did have to make several renovations." Urbosa mused. The Gerudo Champion smiled lightly as she eyed the area. "After all, the castle itself was a complete wreck after all the damage Calamity Ganon did."

"That explains a lot." Kuroyanagi looked towards Mipha. "How often were you and the others here, all those years ago? If you don't mind me asking."

"Well…" The Zora Champion paused, a soft hum leaving her before she answered. "We were here when initially appointed as the Champions, but otherwise we weren't here often. Maybe to give the occasional report about preparations for fighting Ganon, but not much else."

"The Princess and Link were here much more often, for obvious reasons." Revali huffed, and Kuroyanagi turned to see him shaking his head lightly. "I never tried to be here too often."

"I can imagine why." Meister mused softly. Even if the castle itself was vast, its formal environment probably didn't bode well for someone like Revali, who preferred taking to the skies with no limits.

Before anyone else could speak up, Princess Zelda entered the Great Hall, wearing vestments both befitting, and yet not quite befitting, of her royal status. She looked like she'd been in the process of research, given her attire of her tunic andpants, along with boots, rather than flowy dresses and tiaras that one might expect.

"Good morning." Zelda spoke, facing them. Her face remained calm, confident even, and welcoming with that soft smile of hers, as she continued speaking. "I hope the journey hasn't been too hard on all of you. I heard about the recent Blood Moon occurring a few days ago."

"It's hard to miss it, Princess." Revali spoke, and Meister gave him a quiet look. Revali ignored him. "We have a couple people here from this so-called 'Japan,' in need of assistance."

"Japan?" Zelda looked just as confused as all the Champions were upon hearing about that place. "I've never heard of such a land before."

"About that…" Kawachi cleared his throat awkwardly. "I think we all need to explain the situation, Princess."

The Champions explained first; they'd found all the bakers in their places of residence, and after some preparations, decided accompanying them to Hyrule Castle to seek further assistance with getting back home was the best solution. Teba, Yunobo, Sidon and Riju admitted that after hearing about a particular Hinox-related incident, all four of them also went to join them for the sake of safety in numbers, which was vital when travelling during the Blood Moon. The bakers then got their opportunity to give their theories on what the heck happened prior to them getting to Hyrule.

"We think that we got to Hyrule due to an extreme reaction to eating bread." Kuroyanagi spoke up. "Do you know anyone that arrived here, recently, that spoke about something like that? Some of us think that one or two of our fellow bakers might be here…"

"An extreme reaction to eating bread?" Zelda repeated. She looked just as puzzled as anyone else would be, upon hearing that statement, brows furrowing as a small frown formed at the corners of her lips. "I don't know anyone who had such an experience. However, speaking of people that suddenly appeared…there _was_ a young man who ended up here at the castle, several days ago."

"What?" Kawachi's eyes widened. _Could it be…_ "What does he look like? Maybe we know him?"

Zelda looked towards Kawachi as she answered, swallowing lightly. "He has brown hair, and he wore a pink headband, as well as a bakery uniform. We found him unconscious at the castle gates, and we brought him to the hospital wing to tend to him."

Variations of _"What!?"_ spread across all the bakers, looking at each other with bewildered expressions. Some of the Champions and their later companions all jumped at said sudden expressions, with Yunobo even yelping a bit in surprise.

"That's Azuma!" Kawachi burst out, looking Zelda in the eye. It was impossible for any worry on his face to stay contained, unlike Zelda. "Can we see him now? Is he okay?"

"I'm afraid there's a problem." Zelda swallowed, shaking her head. "He hasn't woken up since we found him, yet."

"You mean," Shachioko's jaw dropped, "He's in a _coma!?"_

"His vitals are stable, but he just simply won't wake." Zelda continued explaining. "I'm not sure when he'll wake, or _if_ he will. I've been looking up ways to help him, but…"

"Princess!" One of the servants suddenly rushed in, heaving for breath. "Our guest…he's _awake!"_

"What!?" Everyone collectively stared at the servant and/or had jaws dropping in seconds.

"He's awake?" Zelda repeated. The servant nodded, paling, and the Princess swallowed. "Bring us to him immediately. Our guests here are friends with him and know him."

* * *

The servant was quick to lead the group to Azuma Kazuma's guest room, in the hospital wing of the castle. That had been one of the first parts of the castle fully repaired, for good reason, and Kawachi was thankful that they at least gave Azuma a private room to rest in. He doubted Azuma would've fared well with having tons of people around him otherwise. Kawachi was the first to walk into the room, and he saw Azuma Kazuma, still wearing the pink hairband he had. The baker genius sat up in bed, currently rubbing his eyes. He looked a little pale, but otherwise well and unharmed.

"Azuma!" Kawachi was by Azuma's bedside in an instant. "It's me, Kawachi! Are you okay?"

Azuma stared blankly at him, before muttering, "Kawa..chi?"

"Yeah. That's me!" Kawachi tried to smile at him, even as his gut twisted upon seeing the other's odd expression. "I'm here. We're okay."

"Where…am I?" Azuma rubbed his eyes with a hand, and looked around, frowning lightly. "Who are you?"

"Who am I?" Kawachi stared at him. "Azuma, it's me, Kawachi. Don't you remember…?"

That was when he realized that Azuma didn't look at him with _any_ familiarity at all. His gut twisted further at seeing his closest friend and coworker in such a state.

"Azuma?" Kawachi managed, after a moment of silence. "Do you…not remember anything?"

Azuma's brows scrunched up together, and he closed his eyes, as if struggling. He then shook his head.

Kawachi looked back to see the others exchanging shocked, silent expressions with each other.

"A..zuma…?" Kawachi breathed, looking towards him. "You really don't remember me?"

"Uh…no." Azuma stared back at him, frowning. "Who are you again?"

"Kawachi." Kawachi forced out his own name. "M-my name's Kawachi…"

Even as he tried to come back to some semblance of calmness, at least enough not to scare Azuma too much, deep down Kawachi wasn't sure what to do. What to say. Azuma usually was the one to help him and the rest of Pantasia out of dangerous, precarious situations, not the other way around!

But what could they do, with the tables turned and Azuma now in need of help just as much as the rest of them–or even more?

If Azuma had amnesia, and assuming he was the one who originally made the bread that got them to Hyrule…

_How are we going to get back home?_

* * *

Kawachi and all of his fellow bakers were in complete shock.

Azuma? _Near-completely_ _amnesiac?_ Kawachi managed to relay to Azuma that he was part of Pantasia, that they were coworkers and friends, but Azuma didn't remember any of that. He'd even asked about the hairband he wore, taking it off, and…Azuma rarely ever took it off except for sleeping.

What the group figured out, after the revelation of Azuma suffering from amnesia, was the following: Azuma likely made the bread that sent all of them to Hyrule in the first place. It was likely that he ate it himself and everyone else was present with him at the time, thus sending them all to Hyrule. Unfortunately, it led to the side-effects of everyone being separated, losing their memory of the event that led them to Hyrule, and Azuma himself lost majority if not all of his memories.

Zelda and the other castle nurses and doctors forced the bakers to give Azuma some space and time to rest, so they could check on his vitals and also get an idea of what he _did_ remember. The look-over didn't take long, thanks to the Shiekah technology the castle started utilizing its hospital wing post-Calamity Ganon. Eventually, Zelda had asked to speak with one of the bakers (not all of them, probably to prevent from being crowded by all of them) and so Kuroyanagi offered to speak with her. As they did so, the others waited in the great hall.

"I'm sorry to hear about your friend and his current condition." It was Riju that spoke up, looking towards Kawachi. "I can't imagine this makes your situation any easier."

"It's okay." Kawachi sighed lightly, offering the current Gerudo Chieftan a weak grin. "Maybe Azuma will pull through…I'm hoping he does."

He wasn't sure what he'd do if Azuma really didn't remember anything. He tried to brush it off as a side-effect of being in a coma for so long. Maybe his memory would return, after proper rest and further recovery? Who knows? Miracles happened with Azuma. Why couldn't his memory miraculously come back to him?

"C-come on, now," Shachioko chuckled sheepishly, and Kawachi looked up to see the other, offering him a little grin and trying to be reassuring, "I'm sure he'll pull through! That guy's unstoppable. It's hard to stop him from achieving anything, memory-gaining included. Right?"

"Depends." It was Kai that spoke up, and the three turned to face him. The swordsman leaned against one of the nearby pillars, looking up at them as he continued. "He may not be the same person he was, without his memory."

"What?!" Shachioko stared at him. "You gotta be kidding me, right!?"

"Well," Mipha cleared her throat a little, "Suwabara might not be wrong about that, actually."

"Wait, what?" Monica looked towards her. "What do you mean?"

"When Link first woke up, after a hundred years ago," She managed, taking a deep breath before continuing, "He lost all his memories as a side effect of being in the Chamber of Resurrection. Of course, he eventually recovered his memories overtime, but even I could tell, after I was revived, that he was a little different. That the old Link I knew wouldn't do the things that Link does nowadays. It's possible the same could happen with Azuma."

"I just hope he remembers how to bake, to be honest." Shachioko shuddered at that. "I trust he might have muscle memory, but _still."_

No one really wanted to imagine Azuma suddenly becoming really bad at baking. _No one._

"Hey." The group turned to see Kuroyanagi approaching them. A solemn expression wormed its way onto his face, despite attempts of stoicism. "I'm back."

"What happened?" Meister asked him, frowning lightly. "Is Azuma okay?"

"Azuma's got complete amnesia except for his name, his hometown, and who his biological family is." Kuroyoanagi managed, looking towards the others. "That's all that Zelda and the others could figure out. His vitals are stable otherwise, and he seems relatively healthy, so he won't be collapsing anytime soon or having any other health crises. However, his memory being mostly gone does pose a problem."

The others' faces fell at that, before Yunobo spoke up. "S-so, if that's the case…what do we do? I mean," He frowned, shaking his head, "Is there a way to restore his memory?"

"Not with the collective shock we have, no." It was Meister that spoke up, and the others turned to face him. "We all need some time to think about ways to restore Azuma's memory. I'm sure Princess Zelda will help us in whatever way she can, but collective panic won't help any of us."

"I agree with the General Manager." Kai muttered. "Standing around here won't do us any good. We need time to cool down." After all, that was when the blades were best forged after being initially heated up. Maybe some brilliant idea would occur, after everyone had some rest.

"We could sleep on it, a bit." Monica suggested, looking between everyone. "Come up with ideas to run through by morning. I think all of us are exhausted, and we _did_ just get here."

Everyone agreed with this plan. There was a lot of a travelling, and a lot of grief over all the monsters they recently faced. The shock of Azuma having amnesia wasn't helping things, and shock of having collective amnesia around one event wasn't helping either. With that in mind, everyone decided to rest up for the night. Princess Zelda already had guest rooms prepared for them to stay the night, after all.

* * *

After Monica and Kai had settled into their room, Monica took the time to head onto the balcony attached. The sight from there overlooked the front of the castle, and towards the rest of Hyrule. She could make out the forests from where she was, and the sun was setting, in the distance. At least the sky wasn't reddening as the sign of a Blood Moon, which she was thankful for. It did make her wonder, however, how many more Blood Moons would pass before they ever got home.

"Monica?" She turned to see Kai approach. The swordsman looked serious as always, but she heard the concern leaking into his voice. "Are you okay?"

"Just thinking," She admitted, fully facing him. She leaned back against the balcony with a sigh. "I just never thought that we'd end up here, you know?"

"I didn't expect it either." He admitted. The swordsman baker looked just as conflicted as she was. "At least all of us are reunited now, assuming this is all of us that came here in the first place, and there isn't anyone else."

"I hope there isn't anyone else." She sighed. "Maybe Kanmuri. We could probably use his help right now."

Kai nodded, agreeing with her. It was true that Kanmuri was one of the smartest, given his Harvard background. "I can't imagine him doing so well in battle, even with his yakuza family background, though."

"Yeah…I kinda doubt that, too." She managed. "After all, he _really_ tried to distance himself from the yakuza life." They didn't go through an entire round in Yakitate!25 with both brothers in the Shigeru family against each other, trying to not be the next boss of the yakuza as is.

"We'll find a way to get back, even if Kawachi and Shachioko don't pull their weight." Kai muttered. Monica noticed him frown. "I don't expect them to get better too soon with their fighting."

"Oh, I'm sure they'll have a lot of time to practice." She pointed out. "I can't imagine fighting any remnants of Ganon's forces will end soon."

"That's a fair point." He paused, then looked her in the eye. "When we were battling during the Blood Moon, I noticed all the techniques you used with the spears and weapons you had. Mipha taught you well."

"Really?" She couldn't help but smile at that. "I'm glad to hear that."

"Kuroyanagi could be better." Kai mused, and Monica soon realized that the other was lost in thought about the combat side of things. "He said he was better with shields, so I'd like to see him use a shield in combat soon. Since we're at the castle, we could probably ask for some spare equipment…"

Monica couldn't help but just listen. She was more than sure that they had more to worry about other than just combat, but Kai did have a point. If they were going to be travelling around more in Hyrule while trying to figure out Azuma's amnesia situation, they had to be ready. "What about the others?"

Kai smiled lightly. "Well…"

* * *

"Azuma…"

Kawachi found it hard to leave Azuma's room alone, but Azuma _did_ need rest. And no matter how much Kawachi wanted to just walk into Azuma's room and maybe shake the memory into him, he knew that probably wasn't going to work. Instead, he found himself wandering the castle halls, hoping to tire himself out before getting some sleep.

_After all this time, Azuma was here. And he's lost his memory. He could be the person to take all of us home, but…what does he remember, fully? What does he not?_

_Will any of us have the chance to get back home?_

"Kawachi?" Kawachi looked up to see none other than Yunobo approaching him, a little bit of concern on his face. "You okay? I saw you wandering up and down the halls, so I thought…you might need someone to talk to?"

"Yunobo." Kawachi took a deep breath, facing the young Goron. "It's…not great, gonna be honest. Azuma's one of my closest friends. And the fact that he doesn't remember me or anything about who he is really troubles me."

What if the Azuma now wasn't the same Azuma he was before the memory loss? Kawachi wasn't sure if he could bear that.

"I'm sorry he's hurt." Yunobo took a deep breath, looking Kawachi in the eye. "And I'm sorry that he lost his memory, too. I-if you ever need any help figuring out a way, though, I'd be happy to help!"

"I don't know." Kawachi frowned lightly. "I'm sure there's a way. Do you Gorons have any memory-restoring abilities?"

Yunobo paused, then hung his head. "No. We don't."

"So much for that idea. What about anyone else?"

He shook his head. "Not as far as I know. Maybe the Great Fairies, but…"

"The Great Fairies?" Kawachi's eyes widened. "There are _fairies_ in this realm!?"

"Yup! They're all over Hyrule in different places. One of the easiest-to-find ones is near Kakariko Village, for instance. Some are harder to find, but…they might know a thing about something like that. Then again, I'm not entirely sure since it's been ages since anyone really saw them…"

"It could still be a chance, though." He breathed back. "What if I took Azuma to see the Great Fairies? Maybe they can help! Thanks, Yunobo!"

He saw Yunobo chuckle, smile back. "No problem…"

* * *

Meister got himself checked out at the hospital wing, out of caution for his own physical wellbeing due to the attacks from the Blood Moon. Some healing magic and other potions did the trick well enough, with the doctors and nurses encouraging him to get some rest in his own guest room to be sure he was well-rested and healed. He was on the way to said room when he bumped into none other than Urbosa. He and her hadn't talked much during the journey, partially due to the Blood Moon incident separating him and Sidon from the others for a while, at the time, but there was no one else in their respective hallway right now, and no one else to speak to.

"Lady Urbosa." He bowed lightly to her. "My apologies. I wasn't looking where I was going."

"You seem rather lost in thought." She noted, raising a brow. "I noticed you were leaving the hospital wing. Are you alright?"

"Physically, I'm better." He admitted, with a small wince. "Mentally and emotionally, I have a lot to process. Almost-dying doesn't help. Neither does one of your coworkers having near-total amnesia."

"That's understandable." Urbosa managed. She frowned a little, tilting her head to the side. "I suppose I'd be in the same situation if I were you." She paused, then spoke again. "I've watched you interact with the others. You tend try to appear strong."

A weak chuckle left him at that. "I assume that failed badly, considering that I fell into a river and almost drowned."

"I did not mean by your combat experience. It's the way you present yourself." She stated. "You're the General Manager of the bakery all of you are part of, correct? It makes sense that a leader should project confidence in what they do, so others may follow. But…" Her mouth became a thin line, "you use it like a _shield_ , to deflect anything that comes your way. Why is that?"

Meister paused, swallowed. Ever since he got washed down the river, he spent most of the remaining journey to the castle assuring everyone that he was fine. He did his best to make sure no one noticed the sleepless nights he had afterwards, running the memories of near-death like a constant film in his head.

"Well," He finally admitted, a sigh leaving him as he carefully looked her in the eyes, "I just…I've _seen_ everyone's faces. They're all worried about how to get back home, and…if they give into despair, it won't do any of us good. That's why I have to be strong for them."

It wasn't like he was unused to being strong for others, anyway. He had to do it for his sister, back when they were starving on the streets in childhood, before their adoption. He had to do it for Pantasia when St. Pierre initially bought it out after the Monaco Cup's end. He could be strong this time for them again, or so he hoped.

"You shouldn't burden yourself so much with such a responsibility." Her words cut through his ears, direct. "No _one_ person can burden the worries of many so easily, and you shouldn't punish yourself for times of vulnerability. I've seen it happen before, and the doubt that creeps up from keeping a façade like that won't do you well in the future."

He paused, taking in those words. She had a point, but her mentioning of seeing such a thing happen before piqued his interest. "You said that you've 'seen it happen before.' I assume this is in context of working with the Princess, in the past?"

Urbosa raised a brow. "What makes you guess that?"

"Well," Meister shrugged lightly, "As far as I heard from the others, you and Princess Zelda were close, before your initial demise. And I can't imagine that being the Princess is easy, either."

"You're certainly observant. I can see how you learned your archery and paragliding skills so quickly, now. And it is true that she's had similar struggles to what you've expressed to me." A light chuckle left her, but she nodded. "But my point still stands. Try not to be so hard on yourself."

He could only offer her a little smile. "I'll try."

"Besides," She added, chuckling, "It'll probably stop Sidon from worrying over you so much."

"What!?"

But Urbosa was already laughing before he could protest, and Meister couldn't help but sigh.

* * *

"Ohmygod. Ohmygod, we're gonna _die_ here."

Revali sighed as he watched Shachioko pacing around on one of the balconies, the blond baker looking like he might pull his hair out.

"With _that_ attitude, you might as well." The Rito Champion quipped, gesturing at Shachioko with a wing for emphasis.

"Er…" Daruk scratched the back of his head as he looked up at Revali. "Not sure if that's gonna help, 'vali."

"It's true, though." Revali insisted, flying around in a circle once before perching himself on the balcony railing. "You were _so_ determined earlier to save your friends, and now you're immediately wallowing in despair just because one of them has near-amnesia?"

"Easy for _you_ to say." Shachioko glared at him, stopping his pacing. "You're not the one who needs to get home!"

"If I let something like that bring me down every time and let myself constantly dwell on it, I'd never get anywhere." The Rito Champion's cool tone made Shachioko's glare soften a bit, and the Nagoya fan sighed as he pushed a few loose bangs out of his face.

"Okay, you have a point. But, what am I supposed to do!?"

Revali tilted his head as he looked Shachioko in the eye. "Simple. Get his memory back."

A sigh left the blond. "Yeah, but…how?"

Daruk chuckled a bit as he watched the two continue going back and forth at each other. "Maybe he just needs a good Prime Rock roast to eat. Food has a lot of memories associated with it, right?"

Shachioko swallowed as he looked towards Daruk. "I'm sorry, but _what?_ Prime _Rock_ Roast?"

"I don't think he can eat that." Revali managed, and he looked mildly concerned, his eyes widening slightly as he spoke. "Most of us usually can't eat Rock Roasts, Daruk."

"I mean," Daruk scratched the back of his head, "The little guy tried eating the Rock Roasts I gave him, a couple times. He was almost successful. Same with Kai!"

"What!?" Kai Suwabara, _eating roasted rocks?_ Shachioko wasn't sure what to think of that.

"Just make sure there's no gems in there, though." Daruk quickly interjected, frowning. "Gems taste _really_ bad. Always ruins the taste for us Gorons, at least!"

"O….okay." Shachioko cleared his throat. "I'll make note of that. Thanks."

He heard Revali sigh. "How _asinine…"_

* * *

Kuroyanagi knew that dealing with memory loss was not his expertise. Food science was. After all, that was what he and Kanmuri studied in Harvard. Speaking of Kanmuri, he almost wished that the pink-haired baker was here right now. It would be helpful, to have another brain who knew food as well as he did.

There were foods that helped with memory, right? Like fatty fish, dark chocolate…his stomach grumbled at the very thought of food, and it was hard not to salivate. Maybe he could visit the chefs in the castle and ask if he could try out some of their food. It would be nice. Also, the upcoming ball Zelda was organizing would have food there too, right? Plenty of time and opportunity to learn more about Hyrule's cuisine…

He shook his head. Now was _not_ the time to be distracted by food! He'd paced around in his room enough pondering ways to help Azuma, though. Maybe he did deserve some food for brainstorming a bit…

He heard a knock on the door, and he quickly moved to open it. Zelda stood there, blinking.

"Princess Zelda?" Kuroyanagi stared at her. "I wasn't expecting to speak with you so soon."

"My apologies." She managed. "I hope you're not too occupied. I know someone that might be able to help with restoring Azuma's memories."

"Really?" Kuroyanagi's eyes widened. "Who?"

She smiled softly. "It's Link."

"Link?" Kuroyanagi raised a brow. "Why him?"

Zelda took a deep breath before explaining. "When he initially awakened, a hundred years after I put him in the Shrine of Resurrection so he could recover from Calamity Ganon's attacks and then defeat him, he didn't remember who he was." Zelda swallowed lightly, before finishing. "He's told me that by going out and exploring the world, he eventually remembered bits and pieces of who he was and what he was doing. Perhaps Azuma might be able to do the same if he's given the chance to go out and explore Hyrule. It might not be the same as Japan, but experiencing the world around him might help him recover some of his memory."

"I see." That…sounded like a really good idea, actually. "Maybe we get Link to help us bring Azuma around Hyrule? Where is he, right now?"

"He's in Kakariko Village, speaking with Impa on my behalf on a few things." She managed. "He should be back right before the ball celebrating Calamity Ganon's defeat. Perhaps after the ball has ended, he can assist you and your friends."

"That would be a great opportunity, actually." Kuroyanagi couldn't wait to tell the others, and he smiled lightly. "Thank you, Princess Zelda. This means a lot to me and my friends." _Coworkers,_ he wanted to say, but at this point, he and his fellow staff knew each other well enough to be called friends.

She smiled. "I'm just glad I can find a possible way to help all of you."

* * *

Zelda bid Kuroyanagi goodnight, leaving him. As she walked down the halls, she thought of Azuma. He was resting now, and he certainly seemed stable aside from the amnesia, but she thought of Link. He had amnesia before, too. He wasn't quite the same as he once was, all those years ago. She wouldn't know if Azuma was any different between now and before he ended up here, but his coworkers and friends would. She just hoped that whatever happened, whether Azuma remembered everything or not, that things would be fine in the end.

"Excuse me, Princess?" Zelda turned to see none other than Sidon approach her. The Zora Prince took a deep breath, before speaking. "I was wondering, how soon is the upcoming ball? I'm afraid I've lost track of time since my companions and I made our way here."

"It's in a few days from now, Prince Sidon." She managed, raising a brow. Why did he appear so hesitant? Was there something wrong? "Is there something you need?"

"Well…" He paused, before speaking, "There _is_ something I was wondering about…"

* * *

Everyone reunited with each other after breakfast, the next morning. Azuma was even there, greeting them all with a polite soft smile, learning everyone's names, and though he hadn't remembered much else since when they last checked on him, he at least was okay. Really quiet, but okay.

Kuroyanagi relayed the plan that Zelda suggested to him to everyone, and everyone basically stared at him for a full minute before Kawachi spoke up.

"So, basically, we need to expose Azuma to the entirety of Hyrule to bring his memory back?"

"Maybe not all of Hyrule, but a good chunk of it. It could be helpful for him. Same with exposing him to some actual baking." Kuroyanagi managed, before looking towards Azuma. "Does you even remember how to bake?"

Azuma stared up at him. "Baking? Er…I don't know…"

"Probably at least the basics, right?" Shachioko frowned lightly. "I mean, muscle memory?"

"That's possible." Kuroyanagi managed. Maybe it was best they got Azuma into a kitchen to see what happened, and work from there. "Zelda said that Link would be coming back to the castle just before the ball defeating Calamity Ganon. He could maybe assist us in navigating Hyrule, after the ball ends."

"That doesn't sound like a bad idea, at least." Meister pointed out. "Besides, all of us need to get used to our current surroundings, and why not do that with a trip like this?"

"After we rest first, though." Kai noted. "And after the ball. We can expect many people from all over Hyrule to come in – Gorons, Zora, Hylians and more. It'll give all of us the opportunity to speak with them and learn more about their respective areas, how to navigate them, and any specialty dishes they have."

"Especially the food." Kuroyanagi couldn't stop himself from mumbling that aloud, though no one gave it any care. The fish at Zora's Domain was delicious, but he definitely wondered how the rest of the food tasted. He had some idea of the cuisine from eating rations, during their previous journey to Hyrule Castle, but he was sure there was much more to investigate.

"I just hope we don't have any weird reactions." Shachioko muttered, shaking his head. "At least not in this world. We have enough to deal with as is!"

"No one baked any bread yet, now that I think about it." Kawachi looked towards him. "But in terms of all the other food we ate, there haven't been any reactions that we had. Maybe it's just a thing that happens in our own world."

"Hopefully…"

Monica looked towards Azuma. "Would you… _want_ to get your memory back, Azuma?"

"My memory?" Azuma looked up at her, shrugging a little. "I mean, it would be nice to know who I am. And if we're not supposed to be here and trying to find a way home, I'd like to help in some way, even if it means restoring my memory."

"We'll figure it out." She reassured him.

Monica, in all honesty, wasn't really sure if Azuma's memory would be fully restored. But she knew that they had to stay hopeful.

If they didn't, she had no idea what would happen.


End file.
